Stick Together

On this week’s show we are going to hear an excerpt from Clifton D’Rozario who is an elected leader of the Communist party Marxist Leninist Liberation in India. He is involved in workers and union struggles in India, in this talk he speaks about fight to save democracy in India and the creeping fascism of Modi.

On 22 June United Workers Union (UWU) members at Australian Pharmaceutical Industries (API) in Dandenong Melbourne went on strike. After long hours and wage increases sacrificed during covid they want a $2.25 increase per hour and an agreement that would prevent agency casual workers from getting paid significantly less than the permanent workforce of around 190 workers. We go to the family day pu...

We hear from Arthur Rorris about the Port Kembla's view of being a parking spot for nuclear subs. News items:Hussey workers winCPSU want moreABC restructure means more job lossesEmployers responsible for mining deaths.

Host James Brennan speaks with Sue and Jacob from socialist alliance about the Eco Socialism conference, talking about some of the local topics being covered such as housing and unions as well as looking at south east Asia, climate struggle and global militarism and the positioning of Australian foreign policy around perceived threats from China.

On this episode we remember Daniel Ellsberg who passed away and his contribution to the anti-war movement and we go into more detial about the Australian strategic review on defense policy with Jacob Grech. 

A focus on silicosis that insidious disease that increasingly is stalking the young in work places as varied as tunnellers, concreters, kitchen bench makers and grave stone carvers. We hear from some of the speakers at the Injured Workers Day at VTHC and round it off with a word from CFMEU’s Gerry Ayres at the most recent May Day who spoke about the national Union campaign to protect workers from...

We go outside Victoria Trades Hall on Tuesday 29th of May with a very large crowd of people gathered for the unveiling of the workers' hero Zelda D’prano. A fighter for women's equality and a mighty Union woman. Speeches from Will Struke, Julia Gillard, Dr Claire Wright and a chat with Alma Geekie. 

From sham contracting, low causal pay and high rates of casualization, shutting down of local services, the appropriation of greenspaces, draconian anti protest laws and the imprisonment and murder of unionists in countries in our region. The common threat in all the news this week is that collective effort, solidarity, is the only way forward for a better future.

Today we have the recent Federal Budget in focus. NENA the New Economy Network Australia recently hosted a discussion lead by Matt Grudnoff, senior economist at the Australia Institute, that aimed to break down the budget so ordinary people could get a grip on some of the issues that affect our lives directly.

Australia continues to become a state focused on militarism. The AUKUS agreement planned by former PM Morrison is being set by PM Albanese. The recent defense review paper continues a steady climb for Australia to become a military power in the region. A concerning part of this is the use of the nuclear industry, on this show Tilman Ruff from ICAN speaks about the nuclear threat to Australian poli...

From May 1 to 5 the National Tertiary Education Union, the NTEU, called a national week of action with stop work rallies across Australia’s public Universities.  On Wednesday May 3rd Victorian NTEU members took part in a 24hr strike, with members from Monash, University of Melbourne, RMIT University, La Trobe, VU and Deakin University Branch all joining at Trades Hall in Carlton, for a stop work m...

Today we hear some reflections on the cost-of-living crisis in a rural context from Dave Fox from the AMWU and Secretary of the Bendigo Trades and Labour Council We then draw the lens back to a world trade perspective, IPEF, the Indo Pacific Economic Framework and the most recent update from Trade Justice Fund America on the progress of IPEF the latest US economic pact being hammered out which inc...

This week's Stick Together Program is actually from the vault as far back as 2012 to honour the passing of the well known Father Bob McGuire. The replaying of the program was prompted by the many comments in appreciation of Father Bob's work and that it is always good to learn from his own voice what he was on about. The program was centred on how Unions supported Father Bob's work as he himself s...

Portland local David Rovics spends his time touring across the United States and Europe writing songs that represnt radical politics both historical and current. He recently returned to Australia for the first time in a few years touring across the east coast, host James Brennan spoke with him about his music and some of the campaigns he's witnessed and been apart of across his recent journey. 

On the Wednesday before Easter the CFMMEU Construction and General division called a national day of action in the lead up to their new eba and the upcoming announcements around the Annual Wages Review which sets the pay for the lowest paid workers in Australia. We go to the 20,000 strong Melbourne rally.

 Today two struggles from two different ends of the spectrum with the same issues at the core – pay and conditions.  First we hear from Tony Mavromatis, Victorian State Secretary of the AMWU, the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union about the strike action by workers at the Visy Plant in the rural centre Shepparton in Victoria.  Support the strike fund:BANK: NABBSB: 082-057ACCOUNT NUMBER: 18-898...

Today we listen to a fascinating talk by Andrew Leigh, MP Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury in the Federal Labor Government. The talk was fascinating because Leigh gives some analysis of why workers wages are so low despite productivity increases and now soaring prices. Put on by Per Capita the talk was titled : How Uncompetitive Markets Hurt Workers.

Today we are looking at the use of legislative manoeuvring by Governments to suppress dissent. First in Victoria and then in the UK.

This episode continues the interview with James Brennan speaking to David Spratt and Jacob Grech.  For Stick Together's 'Make Love Not War' episode on 15 February they spoke about the 20th anniversary of the Valentines day peace protest. This episode looks at how political organising has changed since then and how we reflect on the peace movement in its succeses and failures. 

To honour International Women’s Day we look at two stories about working women the first a work place victory and the second a push for positive change. We hear from Australian Education Union organiser Hanae Honda here about her days as an AEU delegate and then follow-up the work going on to increase women in the trades first from AMWU's Courteney Munn here and then Hacia Atheron from EWT,  Empow...

Two reports today. We hear from Danny Miller, AMWU the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union organiser at the Visy plant in Shepperton in rural Victoria where the workers have been taking strike action for fair pay since mid-January.   Reminder to those wishing to support the Visy workers you can still donate hereBANK: NABBSB: 082-057ACCOUNT NUMBER: 18-898-9948ACCOUNT NAME: AMWU Disaster Appeal A...

Workers in Australia have seen the slow increases in wages over the last decade wiped off the map by recent inflation. Wages for essential workers are thousands of dollars less than they were 10 years ago. Should workers have to shoulder the brunt of the new inflation wave or is business floating on a wave of profits that they have become addicted to? We ask the hard questions.

On the Valentines day weekend in 2003 millions of people took to the streets across the world to protest the invasion of Iraq. This year marks the 20th anniversary of those protests. On this week's episode of Stick Together host James Brennan speaks with two organisers of the Melbourne protest that kicked off the weekend David Spratt and Jacob Grech.

Part 2 in a chat with Kristen O' Connell from the Anti-Poverty Centre looking at if the change of Federal Government is changing things for people dealing with social security.

We speak with Kristen O'Connell from the Anti-Poverty Centre in a  two part conversation about the political nature of poverty and the practical bureacracy which maintains it in Australia.